


Spider-Donut

by LilRadRidingHood



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen, M/M, Slow Burn, spider-man au, they start in high school but are college students for most of it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28118814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilRadRidingHood/pseuds/LilRadRidingHood
Summary: Since getting bitten by a radioactive spider, Donut's been swinging around NYC as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! But what starts as a fun way to garner appreciation takes a turn when the Project his old friend joined lets an alien symbiote loose.
Relationships: Franklin Delano Donut/Agent Washington
Kudos: 4





	1. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea in October when my sister mentioned getting a spider donut from Dunkin and my mind immediately went to Spider-Man and my precious pink boy. Hope you enjoy!

There’s nothing like swinging through New York City in a lightish red spandex suit to bring you up when you’re down. And after a bout with his friends, it’s exactly what Donut needs—to step out of his life as an irrelevant high schooler and into the beloved soles of everyone’s favorite neighborhood Spider-Man.

Donut does a few more flips to the sound of cheers below. The next swing is low enough so he can give a nearby pedestrian a nice, crisp high five. Hopefully his spectators can appreciate the precision that takes. After propelling himself from a lamppost, Donut does another flip for good measure before landing gracefully on his feet.

That’s when he hears the scream.

“Spider-Man, help!” someone yells.

“Who, me?” Donut turns to find a woman pointing ahead, toward a robber carrying away her purse. “Oh!”

The robber has a head start, but Donut catches up in no time, following him into an alley where Donut makes a wall of web to cut off his escape. The thief turns, and the panicked look on his face quickly turns to one of defeat.

“All right, you got me,” he says. He sets the stolen purse on the ground and lifts his hands. “Just please don’t hurt me.”

“Hurt you? Why would I hurt you?” Donut says.

Just then, they hear a voice coming from the street: “This way, officer. Spider-Man chased him over here.”

The thief’s eyes widen. “No, no no, please,” he begs. “I swear I won’t do anything like this again. Just don’t let them get me. Please.”

Maybe it’s his naivete acting up again, but when Donut looks into the robber’s eyes, he can’t help but believe him. So Donut grabs the man and takes him over the wall of web before returning to the other side.

“Go on,” Donut says. “Get out of here.”

The thief runs as someone approaches Donut from behind. “What’s going on here?” a voice asks.

Donut turns to find a police officer giving him the stink eye. Fortunately, the woman behind the officer looks much happier.

“Oh, my purse,” she exclaims. “Thank you, Spider-Man!”

She steps forward and gives Donut a tight hug, and once he's over his surprise, he hugs her back in appreciation. _I should help people like this more often_ , he thinks to himself. _I never get this much love from my street tricks_.

“Wait, we’re not done here,” the officer says as the woman lets go. “What happened to the thief?”

“Oh, right. I’d stick around and chat,” Donut says, shooting his web up, “but I've got plans.”

Which is true, even if he wasn't so keen on following those plans just a few minutes ago. But now that he's in a much better mood, Donut's ready to find the roof where he hid his backpack and put his normal clothes back on.

* * *

When a radioactive spider from a class field trip gave Donut superpowers a few weeks ago, he started using them to perform for people in the street. He even made a fabulous lightish red suit to wear while performing, and his reputation as the amazing Spider-Man is already beginning to spread throughout the neighborhood. But none of his fans know who Spider-Man is under the mask—not even Donut's closest friends, or the so-called friends who thought it’d be funny to lie about Extreme Home Makeovers coming to his house.

Donut finds them waiting outside the local movie theater.

“I told you he wouldn’t come. We should’ve apologized.”

“We? It was your idea!”

Simmons glares. “And who went along with it, asshole?”

“Oh, right, next time I’ll fill him in right away,” Grif says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Aw, I can't stay mad at them," Donut says to himself. He rushes forward and wraps his arms around his friends. “Hey, guys! What’s this about holes getting filled?”

“Donut!” Grif and Simmons jerk out of his embrace and look at him incredulously.

“Where’ve you been?” Simmons asks. “We thought you weren’t coming.”

“And miss a date with _you_ guys? I’d never!”

“Not a date,” Grif says.

Simmons elbows him. “Shut up, Dex. Come on. The movie’s about to start.”

* * *

It's dark by the time the movie ends—it being December in New York and all—and Grif decides that they're getting dinner from a nearby hot dog stand. Once they all have their food, they find a bench so they can sit and eat. They're almost done when someone across the street catches Grif's attention.

“Hey, is that Connie?” he says.

Donut and Simmons follow his gaze to where their aforementioned upperclassman is standing, but Donut is more taken with the guy standing next to her: David, his next-door neighbor and longtime crush. As Donut stares longingly at David's unkempt hair and angelic smile, a terrible thought seizes his heart.

“You don’t think Connie and David are going out, do you?” he asks.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Grif says. “I mean, she’s easily the prettiest girl in her class, and David—well, he’s David. He’s got that whole charming-but-also-mysterious-and-could-probably-kill-someone thing going for him.”

"He sure does," Donut says wistfully.

“Plus he’s _super_ organized,” Simmons adds.

Grif raises an eyebrow.

“What? I caught a glimpse of his math binder one time, and he has all these tabs and a chart that-"

“Dude, no one cares.”

Simmons sighs and finishes his veggie dog. “Let’s just get to the bus stop,” he grumbles.

But Donut has other plans. “You guys go on without me. I need to, uh, buy a few things first.”

“Fine,” Grif says, “but hurry up. I don’t want your moms thinking we kept you out too late.”

Donut smiles. Grif’s made an effort to stay on his moms’ good side ever since he tasted their baking.

Once Grif and Simmons are out of sight, Donut finds a hidden spot to change. There's no way he's taking the bus when he can have so much more fun travelling as Spider-Man. With his lightish red mask back on, he shoots his web up and happily swings away.


	2. The Symbiote

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donut loses a friend and gains new enemies.

Donut hasn't seen David all week.

He knows what everyone's saying about David getting in trouble for hitting their gym teacher, but Donut can't believe it. David couldn't—he _wouldn't_ —not so close to his graduation.

Still, Donut can't help overhearing the rumors.

"Coach Prestwood still isn't in today! Man, that senior must've hit 'im pretty hard."

"Oh yeah, it was David, right? I heard he gave him a black eye!"

" _I_ heard he broke Prestwood's ribs! The guy's got some serious anger issues."

With fists clenched at his sides, Donut almost goes up to those students to tell them to stop spreading lies, but he can't find the courage. Not here, as a normal civilian. He stays where he is until Dexter Grif comes along and tells him to move.

"Don't stand in the middle of the hall, dude. That's the worst kind of person."

"Right, sorry." Donut comes to his senses and steps to the side of the hall, with Grif still hovering nearby.

"Look, don't listen to those guys," Grif says eventually. "You know how things spread around here. And honestly, even if they're right, I'd say David did us all a favor. Prestwood's the worst gym teacher _ever_."

"Yeah, I know. But I'm worried."

"Have _you_ heard anything? He _is_ your next-door neighbor."

Donut shakes his head. "I haven't seen him at all. My moms don't know anything either."

And it's true. He's been asking them every night. That night is no exception.

"Frank, dear, you know we'd tell you if we knew something," Glaze tells her son that night as she reads a Daily Bugle newspaper at the dining table. "But it seems like a sensitive issue."

"I know, Ma," Donut says. He lets the subject drop and walks up behind her. "Anything interesting in the paper?"

"Just another article from S. Sarge Sergeant. He really hates that Spider-Man."

Donut reads over her shoulder. "'The pink menace strikes again'? Well, that's not right. His suit is clearly lightish red!"

"You know, dear, it's okay for men to wear pink," Glaze says with a wry smile.

But the words go unheard as Donut's attention goes to the call for photographs printed below Sarge's article—The Daily Bugle's looking for pictures of Spider-Man.

"Hey, Ma, can I borrow the camera this weekend?" Donut asks.

"The camera? What for?"

"Oh, you know. Just trying to get into another form of art."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," says a voice from near the stove. "Then you can take good pictures of me and your Ma!"

Donut smiles. "Sure, Nay." Tess is from Malabon, Philippines, so Donut calls her the short form of nanay, the Tagalog word for mother. She brings the pot of her sinigang over to the table, and Donut dutifully gets the rice cooker. Once all three of them are seated with food on their plates, Donut gladly digs in.

* * *

After dinner, Donut brings the trash out to the backyard.

He can hear arguing from the house next door the moment he steps outside. It's the kind of thing that would normally make him try to complete his task faster, and to block out the noise. But this is _David's_ house he's hearing—and he's pretty sure one of those voices is David's too.

So Donut takes his time carrying the trashbag over to the bin, trying to listen for any clue about what's going on, but he doesn't learn anything new. As he finally places the bag in the trash can, the back door to David's house opens, and David himself steps out.

He doesn't notice Donut at first. He just leans back against the door and closes his eyes, letting out a long sigh. Then his eyes open and lock on Donut, and his face crumples in embarrassment.

"Did you hear all that?" he asks.

"Just a little," Donut says.

David winces. "Sorry. Things have been… tense lately."

"You okay?"

"Yeah." He takes a few steps toward the fence between them. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"I've missed you," Donut blurts out. He almost regrets it, but then the corner of David's mouth twitches into a smile.

It doesn't last. "Did you hear what I did?" David asks.

"I know what people are saying," Donut says. "But I know you wouldn't hurt someone like that. At least, not without a good reason."

For a moment David looks conflicted before his features settle into a tired smile. "Thanks, Donut. That's nice of you to say."

David walks up to the fence, and Donut steps forward to meet him there. He looks down at where David's hand rests atop the metal frame, a black ring on his middle finger. Donut wants so much to place his hand over David's. Slowly, he raises his arm-

"I'm leaving," David says suddenly.

Donut drops his hand. "What?"

"I'm moving away. I can't go back to school anymore, my parents hate me for it, and I… I'm joining this project—some sort of scientific research program. They actually scouted Connie first, but she said they're looking for more people. And if it'll take me away from here… well, I volunteered right after Connie told me about it. She still has until after graduation to decide to join, but I leave in a few days."

"For how long?"

"I don't know. Indefinitely."

"Oh."

Donut's gaze drops to the ground, but then David places a hand on his arm.

"Hey, it won't be so bad," David says. "I'll probably get a break every now and then. Maybe I can come back and visit—see you star in the next musical."

"You'd come back just for that?"

"Of course. I've always loved watching you, even when I just knew you as the new kid from Iowa. What was that first show again? Aladdin Junior?"

Donut laughs. "I can't believe you remember that! I didn't even have lines."

"Yeah, but you _did_ make a pretty damn adorable tiger."

Just then, Donut's nay opens the back door. "Franklin, what's taking you so- oh."

David gives her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Tita Tess. We were just talking," he says. He looks at Donut and punches him gently on the shoulder. "Good night, Tiger."

Then he winks, and Donut savors each moment that passes until he goes back inside.

* * *

Days and weeks and months pass by. David and Connie train in a private facility with Project Freelancer, where they're given their new names: Washington and Connecticut. Alongside forty-eight others codenamed after the States, they follow orders and do their best to work their way up in the ranking.

But for all the hard work and dedication they put into the Project, none of the Freelancer agents have any idea what's going on behind the scenes, in a classified room where an anguished AI is being held in torment.

"It's ready. Bring in the Sarcophagus."

At the Director's order, two workers roll in the platform carrying the aforementioned asset. The large case, codenamed the "Sarcophagus," was acquired by some of their top agents in a recent heist. Once its lid is off, the Director extends his arm to the dark living matter waiting inside.

"Yes," he says. "You can use me as a host for now. But I need you to help me fix something."

The alien being continues to wrap itself around his arm, growing until it encases his whole body. With its amorphous nature, it can get inside anything—into chips and circuitry, into fractured fragments of a tortured mind. It's just the thing the Director needs to continue with his new little discovery.

"Bring me the storage unit," he tells the Counselor.

It's time to harvest another AI.

* * *

It's been four years since David left Queens. Four years since Donut last saw him.

Which is fine, of course. It's not like David was that big a part of Donut's life anyway. Just an old friend, neighbor, and the longest lasting crush Donut's ever had. But that's nothing. Donut's got plenty of more pressing matters to worry about—especially since a team of blue-clad troopers was hired to take down Spider-Man.

This time, Donut's casually crawling up the side of a building in his Spider-Man suit when he spots them: three men wearing three different shades of blue. They're on a nearby rooftop, with Church looking down through a sniper rifle and the others standing behind him. Donut's just about to turn around and go the other direction when Caboose looks up and sees him too.

"Look! The Human Spider!" Caboose yells, pointing with an excited grin on his face.

Unfortunately, the other two aren't nearly as happy to see him.

The first thing Donut does is shoot his webs at Caboose's and Tucker's guns, snapping his wrists back so the guns land somewhere away from the Blues. By the time Donut climbs onto the rooftop, Tucker's already leapt over, long knife in hand. He tries his best to lay a hit on Donut, but Donut's too quick for him. Tucker ends up webbed to the floor.

Then Donut gets a tingling feeling at the back of his skull.

Along with enhanced strength, durability, agility, a healing factor, and the ability to shoot web and stick to surfaces, his spider-sense is yet another result of the fateful radioactive spider bite all those years ago. It does a pretty good job of warning him of imminent danger. So when Caboose tries to tackle him from behind, Donut's spider-sense warns him to move out of the way just in time.

Having dodged the attack, Donut shoots his webs at Caboose until the big man's body is completely wrapped in it. The tall Blue stumbles and falls to the ground, unable to get back up.

That's when a bullet flies by, getting closer to Caboose than to Donut. Donut grins. He doesn't even _need_ spider-sense to stay away from _Church's_ bullets. A few more shots come from the same direction, and none of them get even within a foot of grazing Donut. He figures it's safe to simply leave Church alone.

But then there it is again—spider-sense. And when Donut turns around to find nothing there, he feels the force of a punch go straight to his gut.

"That's right, we got ourselves a badass mercenary," Tucker says as Donut falls to the floor. "Good luck trying to beat us now, Webhead!"

Another blow hits Donut's side, and he barely reacts fast enough to his spider-sense to catch the next kick. When he does, his assailant steps back. Black armor materializes as the camouflage fades.

"You're good," the mercenary says. "But I'm stronger."

Before she can land another hit, though, Donut rolls to the side, leaps off the roof, and shoots his web up ahead. Whoever this mercenary is, she _is_ pretty strong, and Donut's not prepared for that. He needs to give himself some distance.

But when he swings away, she pulls the pin out of a grenade and throws it right at him.

Donut catches the grenade and throws it back on instinct.

He doesn't realize what he's done until it's too late—the grenade explodes too close to the mercenary, and she falls off the side of the building into an alleyway below.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, please don't be dead," Donut says as he rushes toward her. He kneels by her body and reaches for the helmet.

Suddenly, her hand snaps around his wrist.

"No… stop," she says weakly.

"Oh good, you're awake," Donut says. "Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you."

Her head hangs to the side. "I wasn't talking to you."

Before Donut can ask what she means, he hears someone running up behind him. "Get away from my girlfriend!" Church yells.

"Whoops, that's my cue," Donut says cheerfully. Then he shoots his web up in two directions and slingshots himself away, swinging through the city with ease.

Totally oblivious to the dark symbiote creeping up his arm.

* * *

There's nothing like lying in bed with a sheet mask while listening to a show tunes playlist after a long day of web swinging.

Normally, Donut shares his tiny apartment with Frank DuFresne, a medical student who Donut just calls Doc. Doc's the one friend who knows about his double life as both a theater major and the web-slinging superhero known as Spider-Man. They can't afford a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, so they share a room, each person taking up one side with their own mattress on the floor. But since Doc is still out taking his last final exam of the semester, Donut has the room to himself.

His phone is in the middle of playing "Good Morning Baltimore" when the song is interrupted by his ringtone. Donut picks it up to see a number not in his contacts show on the screen.

"Hello?" he answers.

"Hi," the caller says. "This is Agent Washington. I'm a Freelancer."

Donut raises an eyebrow, a wry smile on his face. "Agent Washington, huh? And this is Agent Double-O Donut speaking. But I think you've got the wrong number."

"No, wait! This isn't-" The caller stops, and Donut hears him sigh. "This is… This is David. We used to be neighbors."

"David?" Donut's eyes light up. "David! Gosh, it's been so long! How've you been?"

"I'm fine. But there's something I need to talk to you about. Is anyone else listening?"

"Nope, just me!"

"Good. I need to ask a favor. I know you've been taking photos for The Daily Bugle."

"Oh, do you need a photographer? Because I'm your-"

"No," Wash says. "I need you to help me find Spider-Man."

* * *

David hangs up once they set up plans for him to meet Spider-Man, and Donut throws his phone hard into his pillow. Then he pulls the sheet mask off his face and throws that too.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” he cries, slapping his hands against his cheeks. _Of course_ that's all David wants from him. Of course he wouldn't care about plain old Franklin Donut.

He gets up and storms over to his closet—he needs to go swinging again to clear his head—but as he reaches for his Spidey suit, a black substance shoots out and curls around his arm.

“Ah!”

Donut stumbles backward, falling to the floor as the amorphous matter stretches over his skin. He struggles to pull it off as he gets back up, but then he pauses at his reflection in the mirror.

Whatever this black stuff is, now that it's on his body, it looks like a sleek black version of his normal Spidey suit. And it feels _good_.

"Okay, I can work with this," Donut says to himself. Then he's out the window and swinging through the city.

Eventually, he's drawn down to the sidewalk by a cheering crowd, shouts ringing out to compliment his new suit.

There's just one familiar voice that doesn't sound so thrilled.

"Spider-Man? What are you wearing?"

When Donut turns, he finds none other than the failed sniper Leonard Church.

"Oh shit, no wonder Tex was so pissed," Church says. "You've got O'Malley!"

"O'Malley?" Donut repeats.

"Look, man, I'm gonna need you to come with me. You don't know what that thing is."

But Donut steps back. "Oh yeah? And why should I listen to you? You tried to shoot me! Several times!"

"Yeah, and you're still alive, aren't you? Now come on." He tries to grab Donut's arm, but instead Donut snaps his hand around Church's wrist.

"No," Donut says. He tightens his grip, watching Church's face twist in pain. Then he lifts his other hand and curls it into a fist. "You know, I've been wondering if this suit can make me as strong as it makes me feel."

But the moment Donut poises to punch, Caboose rushes out from the crowd of bystanders.

"Spider-Man, please! Don't hurt Church!"

It's the desperate tone of his voice that gets Donut to realize what he's doing, and he immediately lets go of Church.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," Donut says.

He looks down at his hands—his now black-gloved hands—and he knows what he needs to do.

After climbing to a ledge near the top of the closest high point, a church bell tower, Donut digs his fingers into the front of his new suit and pulls. It takes all his might to rip it apart, and it immediately starts putting itself back together again. So Donut keeps trying and trying, but nothing can keep the suit off of him—at least not until the church bell starts ringing.

Once the noise resounds, shrill cries come out from tendrils of the torn suit, and Donut takes the opportunity to keep ripping. He tugs and tears and slams his fist into the ledge until the black suit shrinks away from him, leaving him outside in nothing but his underwear.

For a while, he just sits there in the dark as the wind blows against his bare skin. He wishes he had his phone, or a friend, or anyone to take him away from here. But he's alone.

When he finally forces himself to move, he covers himself in webs and starts the journey home.


End file.
